Refrigerator cabinet



March 21, 1933. H. s. wo'o RuFF 3 7 riwnmsnuon CABINET Filed Feb. 19,1939 Inventor: Henng 5. wocdrmg His Attonnev g.

which has impaired their efficiency, have also been constructed so thatPatented Mar. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES ;PATENT OFFICE EENBY S. WOODBUFI,OF SCHE'NECTADY, NEW YOB K, ASSIGNOB TO Gm ELECTBIG COMPANY, ACORPORATION OFNEWYOBK REFRIGERATOR OABINEI.

Application filed February 1 9 1930. Serial no. 429,781.

My invention relates to refrigerator cabinets of the type having arefrigerating system associated therewith for cooling the cabinet.

In refrigerator cabinets. of this kind, as heretofore constructed, theevaporators have generally been constructed so that the air in thecabinet flowing over-the surfaces of the evaporator comes in contactwith a small portion of the surface of the evaporator and they theyimpeded the circulation of air in the cabinet.

The object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator cabi-net havingan evaporator therein of such form as to provide for a substantiallyunobstructed flow of air in the cabinet over the entire surface of theevaporator. I accomplish this by arranging a plurality of verticallyarranged refrigerant containing plates in the cabinet in spaced relationso that air in the cabinet can flow freely over substantially the entiresurface of the lates.

y invention will be more fully set forth in the following descriptionreferring to the.

accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty which characterize myinvention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexedto and forming a part of this specification.

Fig. lis a perspectivg/ view of a refrigerator having an evap ratortherein constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the evaporator shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevationin the evaporator, and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section ofthe header of the evaporator and one of the plates which are securedthereto.

As an example of one manner of carrying out my inventlon I have shownthe same in connection with a refrigerator cabinet 10 having anevaporatorll therein for cooling the cabinet which is suspended from aremovable top 12. In this instance the refrigerating system associatedwith the evaporator 11 is of the compression type including a motor andcompressor unit arranged in a casing 13 and which delivers compressedgas to a condenser coil 14 supported on fins 15 secured to the case. Thecondenser coil 14' is connected at the lower end thereof to a floatvalve 16 which controls the flow of liquid refrigerant to the evaporator11. The temperature of the evaporator is controlled by a thermostat 17arranged in contact with the evaporator and connected. to a controlmechanism 18 for stopping and starting the motor which drives thecompressor of the refrigerating system. The general construction of thiscompression refrigeratin machine is illustrated and described inteenstrup Patent No. 1,736,635, November 19, 1929, which is assigned tothe General Electrio Company, assignee of the present invention. r Theevaporators employed for cooling refrigerator cabinets of the type abovedescribed have ordinarily been arranged so that the air circulated inthe cabinet came in contact with only a small portion of thelsurface' ofthe evaporator and impeded the circulation of air in the cabinet. Thisis avoided in accordance with my ing the evaporator 11 of a lurality offlat plates 19 which are vertica 1y arranged in the cabinet. Theseplates are spaced apart in substantially parallel relation and securedtogether at the upper edges thereof by a refrlgerant containing header.20 which is formed with arcuate openings 21 to afford communicationbetween each of the refrigerant containing plates 19 and the header. Theupper edges of the plates 19 are fitted over the openings 21..ai1d arewelded to they header as indicated at 22 in Fig. 4, so that the headerserves to support the plates 19 in spaced relation to each other. Therefrigerant level in the header 20 is maintained slightly above themiddle and a proximately as indicated at 23, so that the refiigerantcontainmg plates 19 are entirely filled with liquid refrigerant. Theevaporator 11 is su ported by lugs 11' which are welded to t e plates 19and bolted to the top 12.

The circulation of the air in the cabinet over the surfaces of theplates 19 vaporizes the liquid refrigerant and, unless thisvaporizedrefrigerant is removed from the inner invention by construct- 75 ysurface of the plates, it interferes with the conduction of heat fromthe walls of the plates to the liquid refrigerant. In order to I removethe vaporized refrigerant from the plates, I provade a plurality ofpassages forming closed paths in the plates for the circulation ofliquid refrigerant which carries the vaporized refrigerant to the header20 as'rapidly as it is formed in the passages. This is part ularlyimportant in an evaporator having vertically arranged plates, be-

* cause in a construction of this kind it is quite difficult to obtain asatisfactory. flow of vaporized refrigerant to the header from theportions of the refrigerant containing plates remote from the header.The closed paths for the circulation of liquid refrigerant in the plates19 may be formed in any desired manner, but in the present constructionI 20 form them by making the plates 19 of two parts which are stampedout of flat metal sheets so.that a plurality of corrugations are formedterminating inside of the outer edges of the sheets, the portions 24 ofthe corrugations extending outwardly from theplane of the edge of thesheets to form'passages, and the portions 25 of the corrugations beingformed in the plane of the edge of the sheets.

The portions of the sheets between the ends of the corrugations and theedge of the sheets are depressed at 19' from the plane of. the edges ofthe sheets to the same extent as the portions 24 of the corrugations.Two sheets of this form are welded together at the edges thereof andthroughout the length of the portion 25 of the corrugations. The pairsof sheets which are welded together in this way to constitute the plates19 form a hori-.

zontal passage 26 across the upper portion thereof and a plurality ofdownwardly extending passages 27 communicating therewith between theportions 24 of the corrugations, and open at the lower ends thereof intoa horizontal passage 28 extending across the lower portions of theplates. By this construction the air circulating over the surfaces ofthe evaporator in the cabinet vaporize the refrigerant in the plates 19and cause the liquid refrigerant to circulate very rapidly 59 from thelower edge to the upper edge of the plates in a plurality of closedpaths as indi cated by the arrows in Fig. 2. In this way the vaporizedrefrigerant is carried by the liquid refrigerant from the inner surfacesof the plates 19 to the horizontal passage 26,

thence to the header 20 of the evaporator as rapidly as it is formed,and the vaporized r efrigerant does not, therefore, interfere with thetransfer of heat from the walls of the 50 evaporator to the liquidrefrigerant.

During the operation of the refrigerating system which is associatedwith .the cabinet- 10, liquid refrigerant is supplied through the floatvalve 16'to the header 20 of the evaporat-or through the pipe 29 andvaporized refrigerant is withdrawn from the header 20 p by thecompressor of the refrigerating machine through the pipe 30 whichextends into the evaporator above the level 23 of liquid refrigerant.

Modifications of the form of my invention which I have illustrated anddescribed will occur to those skilled in the art, so that I do notdesire my invention to be limited to the particular construction setforth; and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modificationswhich do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A refrigerator cabinet having a refrigerating system provided with anevaporator arranged in said cabinet, said evaporator ineluding aplurality of vertically arranged refrigerant containing plates, saidplates being spaced apart to provide an unobstructed flow of air betweenthem and over the entire surface of said plates, each of said plateshaving passages therein extending across the upper and lower portionsthereof and connected by vertical passages, and a header secureddirectly to the upper portions of said plates for securing them togetherand communicating with the passages in the upper portions thereof.

- 2, An evaporator for refrigerating systems including a plurality offlat refrigerant containing plates spaced apart to provide for anunobstructed flow of air between them over the entire surface of saidplates, said plates being vertically arranged and having passagestherein arranged to provide for the circulation of liquid refrigerant ina plurality of closed paths, and a refrigerant header secured directlyto the upper portion of said plates communicating directly with saidpassages.

3. An evaporator for refrigerating systems including a plurality of flatrefrigerant containing plates spaced apart to provide for anunobstructed flow of air between them over the entire surface of saidplates, said plates being vertically arranged and having passagestherein extending across the upper and lower portions thereof andconnected by vert-ical passages, and means including a header secureddirectly to the upper edges of said plates and communicating w1th saidpassages for supplying refrigerant thereto and for securing said platestogether.

4. An evaporator for refrigerating systems including a plurality ofvertically arranged substantially parallelflatplates spaced apart toprovide for an unobstructed flow of air between them over the entiresurface of said plates, said plates having a passage across the upperportions thereof and other passages arranged to form a plurality ofclosed paths for the circulation of liquid refrigerant, and meansincluding a header se- 3 cured directly to the upper edges of saidplates and communicating with the passages m the upper portions thereoffor supplying refrigerant to said plates, said header ex- 5 tendingtransversely of said plates.

' In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 18 th dafi fifFebrua 1930.

Y S. W ODRUFF.

